Derek Lewis
Board Chair - Since January 2026 (Joined November 2023)
Derek is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, with over 35 years of corporate governance experience in major international companies, primarily in the financial services sector, as well as having experience in risk management and compliance.
Derek has been involved with basketball since school (where he won a national championship) having played for 43 years; coached for 40 years, with a strong focus on junior development; and been on the Medway Basketball Association Management Committee for 32 years, with roles including Secretary, Basketball Development Officer & Registrar. He is also a longstanding Governor of his former school, Gravesend Grammar School, where he is the link governor for key stage 5; and he is a Trustee of the Chartered Secretaries Charitable Trust.
Having retired from playing basketball during the coronavirus pandemic, he now swims regularly up to 2 km a week to stay fit.
Barbara Grogan
Board Member - Joined Board in May 2025
Barbara is a health communications consultant who most recently worked with global healthcare company Axon Communications. Her work has involved distilling clinical data to create engaging educational initiatives for health professionals and patients alike. She is currently transitioning the focus of her work into leveraging insights and preventative healthcare.
Barbara also has a background in cross country skiing and is a qualified coach and tutor, having been with Snowsport England since 2015. Here she sits on the coaching technical panel and has been involved with programmes such as She Leads, which looks to get more women into the sport.
Caz Conneller
Board Member - Joined Board in May 2025
Starting off with a career in TV and casting at the BBC, Caz then felt the personal need for a more active lifestyle, as well as providing opportunities for women more generally to be more active in everyday life. From this she founded a business - Cyclechic, which looked to make cycling a more desirable way for
women to travel. The business ran for 16 years and over this time Caz wrote a book, The Girls’ Bicycle Handbook and wrote for the Times and the Guardian about women and active travel.In 2023 Caz became a Director at Loud Mobility and launched the behaviour change campaign She’s Electric, promoting sustainable transport and e-mobility to a more diverse audience and enabling women to ride electric bikes. In 2025 Caz became International Campaign Manager for Clean Cities where she runs campaigns focussed on School Streets - enabling more children to travel sustainably, freely and more actively to school.
Chris Manley
Senior Independent Board Member - Joined Board in August 2026
Chris has dedicated more than 30 years to education, sport and personal development, working across further and higher education to support learners, educators and communities. He has held roles with North Kent College and MidKent College specialising in sport, teaching, mentoring and curriculum development.
Alongside his education career, Chris has made a significant contribution to basketball and community sport. He serves as Vice Chair of South East England Basketball and has played a key role in strengthening governance and supporting the development of the sport across the region. He has also worked as a Basketball Development Officer and has extensive experience supporting grassroots clubs, volunteers and participant pathways.
Chris brings expertise in governance, quality improvement and strategic planning, having served as a Staff Governor and led governance improvements within regional sport. He is also a passionate canoeist in his spare time.
Chris Morgan
Board Member and Safeguarding Champion - Joined Board in January 2024
Chris, raised in South Wales, grew up in an environment deeply rooted in sports, surrounded by a family and community passionate about athletic activities. This upbringing ignited his own love for sports, leading him to actively participate in both cricket and rugby at competitive levels for several years.
Over the past decade, Chris has been Director of Sport at Tonbridge School. In this capacity, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the sports programs and nurturing athletic talent. His responsibilities have included liaising closely with numerous local, national, and international National Governing Bodies (NGBs), as well as professional sports teams. This role has demanded a high level of coordination, communication, and organisational skills, enabling him to forge significant relationships within the sports community.
Additionally, Chris has been instrumental in coordinating various sports initiatives and events, demonstrating his capability to manage large-scale projects effectively. His leadership has not only benefited Tonbridge School's sports programs but has also contributed to the broader sporting community.
Claire Shelton
Board Member - Joined Board in May 2025
Currently the Director for Health and Wellbeing at Social Enterprise Kent, Claire’s whole career has been spent working in the public sector. Initially working for Redbridge Council she then went on to set up and work for the Town Shed project in Broadstairs for over seven years, collaborating with the UK Men’s Shed campaign during this time.
Claire leads a number of multi partner programmes across East Kent focusing on community health and wellbeing. The focus of her work for the last couple of years has been system change focusing on helping the health sector work more strategically and equitably with the voluntary sector. Claire also currently sits on the Social Enterprise Kent Board, east Kent Health & Care Partnership Board and has recently joined the Oasis Board.
James Duncan
Board Member - Joined Board in August 2026
James is an experienced people and organisational transformation leader with more than 20 years’ experience supporting workforce development, organisational change and leadership capability across the leisure, education and physical activity sectors.
Throughout his career, James has specialised in workforce planning, organisational design, leadership development, governance and large-scale change programmes. He has held senior leadership positions with organisations including Fusion Lifestyle, Future Fit Training and Sporting House Group, helping organisations build sustainable workforces and improve long-term organisational effectiveness.
James also brings significant governance experience, serving as Chair of the HR Board for Community Leisure UK and having previously been a Board Member of the CIMSPA Professional Development Board. Alongside his professional career, he is actively involved in mentoring young people and supporting community organisations, reflecting his commitment to helping people and communities thrive through sport, physical activity and lifelong development.
Jo Ferry
Board Member - Joined Board in August 2026
Jo is a senior public health leader with more than 25 years’ experience delivering prevention, commissioning and system transformation programmes across local government, the NHS and international health systems. She currently serves as Public Health Programme Lead at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where she's leading an extensive transformation programme focused on reducing health inequalities and improving population health outcomes.
Jo has also previously worked internationally for Save the Children and Oxford Policy Management, bringing extensive expertise in governance, commissioning, programme assurance, strategic transformation and partnership working across complex systems.
A former England Senior Women’s basketball international, Jo remains a passionate advocate for physical activity, active travel and the role of sport in improving health, wellbeing and community connection. She is committed to tackling health inequalities and creating opportunities for people to lead healthier, more active lives.
Nick Jennings
Board Member - Joined Board in November 2025
Nick is a qualified accountant and finance professional with over 20 years experience in corporate finance, tax compliance, IT and governance. He has been Finance Director at Q Catering since 2022, playing an integral role in the company’s expansion. Previously, Nick spent 18 years at Kent Frozen Foods, where he was instrumental in transforming the business from an SME into a large-scale corporation and sale to a multinational corporation.
An active individual, Nick is a keen basketball player and a regular in the gym, as well as a keen cyclist. Nick has also embraced his children’s enthusiasm for football, sharing in their love of the game.
Timothy Oladimeji
Board Member - Joined Board in November 2025
Timothy is Director of Staff Wellbeing at a Multi Academy Trust, where he has been for the past 15 years. His work spans A Level and T Level strategy, CPD and coaching, workload and wellbeing, safeguarding standards, and inclusive practice. A passionate educator, he is dedicated to student success and progression. He has a particular interest in SEND, advocating for young people who need extra support. He is also a passionate supporter of men’s mental health awareness.
Beyond education, Timothy serves as a Trustee for a Southside Young Leaders Academy and is a Parish Councillor committed to community welfare. Having relocated from London in recent years, he now enjoys exploring local green spaces with his family.
Ex-Officio Members
Tom Marchant
Head of Strategic Development and Place at Kent County Council and the Host Agency Representative on the Board
